San Francisco DA Sets Up New Crime Lab

April 28, 2010

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris announced she is creating an independent crime lab separate from the police department as a result of the recent problems surrounding the San Francisco crime lab. As you may recall, one of the crime lab technicians was alleged to have drug problems and used inventoried drugs personally while working at the crime lab. So far, about 550 drug cases have been dismissed. In DUI / Drunk Driving cases, both blood and on occasion urine tests are routinely analyzed and tested by law enforcement crime labs. In addition, technicians or chemists from these crime labs are routinely used to testify in court for the prosecution in DUI / Drunk Driving cases. Going forward, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office will prepare guidelines in dealing with misconduct by law enforcement employees.